{"id":23246,"date":"2020-09-18T13:53:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T11:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bake-street.com\/?p=23246"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:26:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:26:27","slug":"pita-bread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bake-street.com\/en\/pita-bread\/","title":{"rendered":"Pita Bread"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a long time I wanted to share with you how to make homemade Pita Bread<\/strong>. I’m sure the same thing happens to you as it does to me. It is a type of bread that you consume a lot at home, but due to lack of time, many times you end up buying it… If I’m honest, it’s not a very time-consuming or complicated process, on the contrary. It is a variety of bread that is very easy to prepare, but it needs a good kneading process.<\/p>\n

The times of raising are quite short if we compare it with a bread of sourdough, but much more in this moment of the year that we have a quite good temperature to raise doughs. Come on, I leave you no choice but to tell me that you are not going to prepare them this weekend, hahaha.<\/p>\n

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Pita Bread origin.<\/h5>\n

Pita bread<\/strong>, also known as Arabic bread, Syrian bread and Lebanese bread<\/strong>, has existed since approximately 2500 BC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Excavations of ancient Egyptian cities show that they grew wheat and barley, and these grains were used to bake flatbreads. It is believed that the Egyptians discovered the leavened bread accidentally, leaving a forgotten dough in a warm place. This gave rise to a natural preferment.<\/p>\n

Before a process of making yeast was developed, bakers used to set aside a piece of unbaked dough from each batch. This reserved portion of dough had fermented. When the next batch of bread was made, it was added and mixed with fresh dough to make it rise.<\/p>\n

In 1665, an enterprising baker thought of adding brewer’s yeast to his reserved dough from another batch.<\/p>\n

At first, the grain was ground manually by grinding it between two stones<\/strong>. Later, a mechanical process was invented in which a cattle-drawn traction stone rotated on a lower, perpendicular stationary stone. Over time, livestock was replaced by water mills or windmills.<\/p>\n

In the late 18th century, a Swiss miller invented a steel roller mechanism that greatly simplified the flour milling process.<\/p>\n

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It is believed that the Bedouins may have been the first to make pita bread.<\/h5>\n

It is difficult to know with certainty its origin, but archaeologists have determined that it was first done by groups of people from the western Mediterranean, most likely by the Bedouins or Amorites<\/strong>. They placed the loaves at the bottom of the mixing pot and baked them over an open fire. This bread was used as a utensil as well as for food.<\/p>\n

As the Bedouins traveled through the Arab and Saharan deserts, the pita bread spread and became known to the rest of the people.<\/p>\n

In the Middle East, pita bread is still baked on a traditional patio stove, unlike the cooking methods we use today. Some Arab and Israeli communities have community ovens or bakeries where hours are set aside for families to bake their homemade breads.<\/p>\n

This variety of bread must be baked at a high temperature (450-475 \u00b0F), to allow the water in the dough to turn into steam, so that the bread swells creating a pocket inside. When taken out of the oven, the layers of bread dough remain separated, allowing the bread to be opened for filling.<\/p>\n

This variety of bread has been maintained over time and is still enjoyed as a basic food in many countries of the world.<\/p>\n

When immigrants from the Middle East began moving to the United States, they introduced Americans to their cuisine. Pita bread became a very popular choice of bread, especially because of the absence of butter and the small amounts of sugar added. By the 1990s, the wholesale pita bread market was approaching $80 million in annual sales. Commercial pitas are usually made with all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour. Their size ranges from 10, 16 and 25.4 cm in diameter.<\/p>\n

Making and enjoying pita bread at home<\/h5>\n

As you can see in the video, this type of bread has no major complications. It is super easy to carry out. I show you how to do the whole process by hand, but in case you want to use a stand mixer, you can do it. You will probably have to help the dough from time to time with a little bit of hand work, since it has quite moderate hydration.<\/p>\n

This variety of bread can be enjoyed in many ways, either with hummus<\/strong><\/a> (on the blog I have several recipes that you will love), tirokafteri<\/strong><\/a>… Although soon I will leave you a recipe to use them that you will love.<\/p>\n